


Grasping darkness until dawn comes

by Naelhinn



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Minor AM spoilers, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 21:23:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21308818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naelhinn/pseuds/Naelhinn
Summary: When the joined armies of Dimitri and the Church of Seiros arrive at the gates of Enbarr; Ingrid, Crimson Knight of the Edelgard, goes once last time to see the one she has vowed her life and loyalty to.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	Grasping darkness until dawn comes

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! First and foremost this is a kind of mix between the Silver Snow and Azure Moon routes, and there are small spoilers regarding AM in particular (nothing too big I think, but don't take any risk if you want to discover AM for yourself, don't read this fic for now? Maybe?)  
I wanted to write a multiple chapters fic and I still plan to BUT I'm taking part in a Secret Santa, so I'd rather focus on this for the month to come, and I really needed to get this idea out of my mind. 
> 
> Of course this fic couldn't have been brought to you without the help of my friend and beta-reader Lulukaws, much love on you! <3
> 
> Well that's all I had to say, I hope you will enjoy reading this fic :D  
(Also do tell me if you spot mistakes or things that just don't quite fit in please, I'm not a native english speaker)

* * *

Her footsteps echoed in the almost empty halls that lay before the throne room. Soon the whole palace would be swarmed with troops and its silence replaced with the fury of battle. She trusted Hubert, but she also knew that the orders he had given to her weren't vain. There was something she had to do now, before battle set the palace ablaze, before her breath could only be dedicated to the quick and cold dance of the fight. Dusk was upon Enbarr already and it bathed the palace in warm golden lights. Her heart raced as she walked and her fingers strengthened their grasp around the hilt of her sword. Two mages in black robes waited by the door. They guarded it thoroughly and came forward as Ingrid got closer.

“You can't enter the throne room. Her majesty the emperor needs rest and privacy for what is to come.”

She stopped right in front of them. It was hard for her to keep her composure. She glanced at the window, which gave on the port. Blue and white banners were already floating over the first walls of the city. In the distance, smoke rose in the burning sky as a composite fleet blockaded Enbarr. She could see sails from Brigid and house Riegan amongst the great number that swarmed the red and orange sea. She raised her hands and spoke clearly:

“I need to speak to her majesty now. I come with a message from Count Vestra, to be handed over in person.”

The mages looked wary and she could sense magic gathering around them. She didn't move. Finally the tension broke and one spit out:

“I am sure you were not demanded to hand it yourself, Crimson Knight. Now leave it to us and go prepare yourself. Surely you will be needed greatly during the battle to come.”

Ingrid put her hand on the hilt of her sword and although she spoke quietly and her voice was soft, her eyes blazed as she spoke:

“I was asked to hand it to her personally. Count Vestra is organizing the defence of the city, I was put in charge of defending the palace, were he to fall. Now out of my way.”

The mage grinned and looked at his comrade. For a second Ingrid thought she would have to shed blood to see Edelgard, but the two masked mages gave way and she sighed out of relief.

The door was shut close behind her. The room was barely lit, the great windows covered with heavy curtains and on the throne stood Edelgard, hunched up and draped in a crimson cloak. She raised her head upon hearing the door and, in a hesitant and hoarse voice, asked:

“Ingrid… is that you?”

The knight strode to the throne and knelt in front of the emperor. Her armour shone in the dim fiery light and she was like spark in the middle of a velvet night. She handed the message, keeping her eyes low. Edelgard took it slowly and stretched the paper. For a moment she was silent and even her heavy breathing died out. Ingrid could hear her heart beating, pounding in her chest. Eventually Edelgard sighed and tossed the message into one of the braziers, where it caught fire and for a second sent flashes of bright light on the scene.

Still, Ingrid's head was bowed and the fire glimmered in her golden hair. Edelgard reached for her chin and raised her head. At first Ingrid kept her eyes closed. When Edelgard spoke in a commanding voice, her heart skipped a beat. Her voice was different. Not only was it hoarse, it was closer to a death rattle and fraught with sorrow and pain.

“Open your eyes.”

Ingrid obliged. Edelgard's face was covered with dark spots which grew and grew, devouring her skin. The knight didn't move, didn't say anything or express any emotion. She simply looked at Edelgard, right into her amethyst eyes.

“Yes, your majesty?”

Edelgard coughed. She spoke slowly, as if every word pained her.

“Once you said you would vow your eternal loyalty to me. Now I ask of you, do you still...”

Ingrid answered before she could be finished. She had prepared her answer long ago, when she had first knelt before Edelgard.

“I pledged my life to your service. I have since long relinquished any doubt my heart once held. I am your knight. I know you do what you think is right, and I will follow you wherever you'll go. Should you burn in the flames of sinful crimes, then so shall I, that I might light the slightest glimmer of hope in your eyes.”

She smiled at Edelgard. As her skin was slowly being covered in this coal-black substance, her eyes still remained the same.

“And the sacrifices you go through, the pain you strain your body with, the wounds you inflict on your soul; those do not deprive you of your humanity. Those are the very core of your humanity, your beauty, and the reason I will forever be yours.”

With these words she bent her head again and very gently she took the hand which Edelgard had reached her with and removed its white glove. For a while she silently stroked it. The fires grew dimmer by the minutes, and as it did so did Edelgard. Soon she was but a shadow out of Ingrid's reach, with the exception of her hand, still warm under Ingrid's caresses, and her eyes, glittering gems in the dark. The knight raised her head and whispered to the shadows:

“Your majesty, please allow yourself to share your pain with me… Please entrust me with your aching and your tears. My heart will not grow weak with this burden. If only for a minute, please, trust me… Edelgard.”

The fires died and she was suddenly grabbed and pulled towards the emperor, whose voice was now wheezing and ethereal.

“Can't you hear me? Can't you see how darkness seized my body? I am to stand alone upon that throne.”

Ingrid felt like Edelgard had grown claws on her hands and stood silent a few seconds. Edelgard was holding her against her chest and her grasp was getting stronger by the second.

“I hear your heart beating.”

Edelgard was surprised and Ingrid was released, but she didn't move. Instead, she turned her head toward the empress.

“I see your eyes, too strong to beg for trust or help, yet longing for shoulders; strong to rest upon and quiet to cry into.”

Edelgard didn't move, and so Ingrid kept going.

“I see the one I pledged my life to, the one my loyalty was acquired to, the one my heart couldn't live without.”

Very slowly, Edelgard moved her hands, reaching out for Ingrid's head. She fiddled with a lock of her blond hair while gently caressing her cheek. She kept doing so gently, giving no answer and looking at Ingrid. Eventually, the knight stared at her. Her green eyes were fiery despite the darkness.

“You might have to stand upon that throne alone, but there is still room next to you. As Hubert is your blade in the dark, the one to rise against the shadows and the whispers, please allow me to be your blazing blade, the one to cast your light with.”

An indescribable sound came from Edelgard, and Ingrid didn't know whether she was sobbing, laughing or in sheer pain. However, the empress took her again her chest once again, and whispered to her ear:

“Do stay with me. Ingrid. Until this night is over, until dawn casts its rays upon my monstrous body, stay with me. Stay with me until the very end, until crests have devoured my right to have you by my side; stay with me.”

Her arms hugged Ingrid tightly and her breath slowed down. Ingrid gave in and didn't answer. It was no question, it was a command. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget the battle that was to come tomorrow. Either she held Edelgard or Edelgard held her, no matter how painful the slow transformation was to Edelgard and how harrowing her quiet cries were to Ingrid, the throne room was not filled by shrieks and growls. The tears, the cries of pain, Edelgard entrusted them all to Ingrid, and her knight took them and until the very last layer of shadow was cast away by the morning sun, she stayed in her arms. Even when she could feel no more skin on the hands of the emperor, she stayed. And when finally dawn was there, and with it cries of victory from their enemies outside the palace, Ingrid stood up, stared one last time at Edelgard, silenced her aching heart and unsheathed her sword as she moved toward the door.


End file.
